Senior Liberal MP Angus Taylor has stated that he doesn't support gender quotas, after Opposition leader Sussan Ley declared herself a "zealot" for improving female representation within the party's ranks.
"I'm not a supporter of quotas," Taylor told Sky News.
"As Sussan said, this is going to be a matter for state divisions. It's not something that I think is necessary in order to get the outcome."
"I think attracting, mentoring, retaining great people and great women in the party is incredibly important work for absolutely everybody, for all leaders," said Taylor.
In a speech at the National Press Club (NPC) on Wednesday, Ley, said it was "time to get serious" about having more women on board, but that she was "agnostic" about which mechanisms were used.
"I'm agnostic on specific methods to make it happen, but I am a zealot that it actually does happen; current approaches have clearly not worked," she added.
In May, Ley prevailed over Taylor to take the party's top job, following the loss of Peter Dutton's seat after the Liberals' worst election result in 80 years.
Since taking the helm, she has reviewed a series of core policy proposals and spoken about the need to broaden the Coalition's voting base, especially among women.
The gender gap
Labor introduced gender quotas back in 1994, and today more than half of its caucus is made up of women. By contrast, women make up fewer than 30% of the Coalition party room.
Although Ley has left the issue of quotas to be dealt with by state divisions, she has said she is supportive of more women being pre-selected.
Ley is the first female leader of the party in its 80-year history; however, her appointment follows successive elections where female voters have turned away from the Liberals.
A review of the party's loss following the 2022 election found that a majority of women preferred Labor across all ages, and the two-party preferred vote for the Liberals was weakest among young women.
Tone shift?
Some experts believe Ley's NPC appearance suggests the party is trying to update its image and strike a more accessible tone — a notable change, given Dutton hadn't attended the club in three years.
Ley spoke to the "aspirational" voters she wants to win back as part of a revived Liberal Party that will "respect, reflect and represent modern Australia".
She also confirmed that all party policies are now up for discussion, except for areas the Nationals flagged during the Coalition's temporary split, which have already received their backing.
She said the party "didn't just lose" in the federal election, it got "smashed".
"What we as the Liberal Party presented to the Australian people was comprehensively rejected," she said.
Ley said on Wednesday that a working group had been commissioned to look at an updated energy and emissions reduction policy.
However, she didn't clarify whether the policy will include a net-zero goal — something that has long divided both the Liberals internally and the Liberal-National Coalition.
The Liberals have continued to lose inner-city voters on the issue of climate change, with many shifting their allegiances to independents.
